Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process and apparatus for the continuous harvesting, solar drying and accumulation of hay or other crops. More particularly, the invention pertains to a process for continuously cutting, solar drying and subsequently baling hay.
It is known in the art of harvesting farm produce that crops, for example, hay, grass, alfalfa, and grain crops such as wheat, which naturally have a high moisture content, must be dried before storage in order to preserve them. By drying prior to storage, the crop is much easier to handle and a substantially improved storage life is obtained. As an example, newly cut grass has a moisture content of approximately 40%-80% of its weight. To maintain its quality, the dried young grass must be dehydrated to a point where the moisture content is approximately less than 20% of its weight before it is baled.
The usual method of processing grass or hay is for the farmer to cut the hay when it has reached the bud stage or in early blossom. It is then allowed to dry in the sun as a loose mass in the field for at least a day and preferably two days. The crop is then raked into windrows and turned so that the sun can dry the material that was on the ground. If it has not dried sufficiently, it must be teddered, or spread out on the ground again and allowed to dry further. It is then raked into windrows again. It is later baled either into square or large round bales. This method is disadvantageous since it requires at least three and as many as five passes of equipment in the field to complete a harvest. This inefficiency compels a manifold use of manpower and equipment. In addition, several days are required to bring in a crop since sun drying is a slow process and weather is unreliable. In order to facilitate field drying, some farmers spray chemicals on the cut crop to quicken drying time. This adds to expense and is generally undesirable. Furthermore, during field drying time, some of the cut crop is wasted due to weathering and collection losses. It is therefore desired to collect and dry a crop as quickly as possible so that it can be protected in storage.